Fur slitting device



Filed March 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l .wcooon.

R. 5% H M cm w 2 2.. L E u,flf, M v 2 B :N U

ATTORNEY.

Nov. 19, 1940.

s. DE UTSCHER FUR S'LITTING' DEVICE Filed March 14, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet2 4a- ,62 SAW/05L D50 TSCHER f ,63 INVENTOR. 'F'" I Patented Nov. 19,1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 14,

11 Claims.

My invention relates to fur slitting devices and has particularreference to devices for slitting or cutting furs into narrow strips forthe preparation of matched fur covering for articles of wearing apparel.

In the preparation of coats and similar articles of wearing apparel fromhigh-priced furs such as mink, etc., the individual pelts are cut intonarrow strips, usually about one-eighth of an inch wide, preferably onbias, and such strips are sewed together again, shifting every strip.

in relation to the other so as to produce a relatively long and narrowpiece of fur. This operation is called let out and reset in the furtrade.

The slitting operation is usually performed by hand, cutting one stripat a time, using special thin knives, preferably made of razor bladesheld in special flat holders. Such an operation requires considerableskill, is very slow, and, therefore, considerably adds to the cost ofthe product.

My invention has for its object to provide means for cuttingsimultaneously a large number of narrow strips from a pelt at an angle,

thereby insuring accuracy of the work and uniformity of the strips. Iprovide for this purpose a more or less large number of thin knivesremovably supported on an elongated holder which can be held in a handwhile applying the knives to a pelt in a desired direction.

The pelts, such as mink, are usually cut on a bias or in an angulardirection for let out and reset cutting, to the right or to the left,and, occasionally, straight across. Another object of my invention istherefore to provide means for mounting the knives on my holder in anangular position, to the right or to the left, as desired, or at rightangles to the holder. I

Another object of my invention is to provide a holder for the knives inthe form of an elongated box with a removable drawer in which spareknives and knife holders can be kept until 45 needed.

Another object of my invention is toprovide a supporting and stretchingframe for pelts so as to facilitate the slitting operation. I alsoprovide a guiding rail above the frame, the knife holder having anangular member which can engage the rail so that the holder with theknives can be moved along the rail over the pelt in a fixed angulardirection, thereby slitting the fur in the exact angular direction. ,Ialso provide a scale at one side of the box 1940,, Serial No. 323,885

or knife holder for convenience in measuring the strips of pelts.

In a modified form of my invention I employ an electric motor or othersuitable source of power including a manually operable pedal, for movingthe holder with the knives, a suitable switching device being providedfor con-' trolling the motor.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specificationand drawings in 10 which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my device partlyin section;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a sectional end view of the same partly in section;

Fig. 4 is a detail view of a knife holder with a knife;

Fig. 5 is a top view of the same;

Fig. 6 is an end view of the same;

Fig. '7 is a detail view of a retaining plate for the knife;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a fur supporting frame with a slittingdevice;

Fig. 9 is a fractional detail view of clamping bars for the furs; i

Fig. 10 is a fractional top plan view of the same;

Fig. 11 is an elevational view of a modified de- 30 vice employing anelectric motor.

My fur slitting device consists of an elongated holder in the form of abox I with a drawer 2 which is used for keeping spare parts. The topboard 4 of the box has a row of metal inserts 3.5 5 threaded for screws6, which support knife holders 7. The inserts are placed at a shortdistance apart, preferably about one-eighth of an inch, so that theknife holders, if placed at right angles to the box as shown in dottedlines I 40 in Fig. 1, will be also one-eighth of an inch apart. Usually,however, the knives are placed at an angle for cutting the fur at abias, the angle being preferably 15 as shown in Fig. 1. The

knives will be then also one-eighth of an inch apart if the ends of theholders are mounted on every fourth insert 5. It is evident, therefore,that with such an angular arrangement, only one fourth as many knivescan be placed on the box as with the. knives extending at right angles.The knife holders are held in the angular position by lugs or dowels 8,Fig. 4, fitting in corresponding holes 9 in the board 4. The holes ex.-tend to the left on the board 4 as shown in Fig. 1,

so that the knives can be turned over to the left into a positionindicated in dotted lines 1 at the left in Fig. 1. A corresponding rowof holes 9 is provided at the edge of the board 4 for the position ofthe knives shown in dotted lines 1'. The knives are held tight againstthe board 4 by a bar l0 extending over the upper edges of the knifeholders and fastened at the ends by screws ll threaded into posts [2.

The front side of the drawer 2 is inclined as shown and provided withdivisions 13 for measuring the length of different portions of the work.The rear wall of the drawer is relatively low, consisting of portions l4and I 5 of different height, comb teeth l6 and H being inserted into theedges of these portions. The drawer therefore can be used as a comb forstraightening out the fur, different portions i4 and I5 being used forfurs with different length of hair.

The drawer 2 is used for keeping spare knife holders I at the right andleft end portions, the holders being stacked and clamped together andagainst the bottom of the drawer by bars l8 rotatively supported onstuds I9 and tightened by wing nuts 26. Walls 2| extend from the rearwalls Hand [5 and form an inner compartment 22 for storing knife blades23. The latter are preferably made of ordinary safety razor blades bybreaking them diagonally as shown. They are also stacked and clamped bybars or plates 24 on studs 25 and tightened by nuts 26. The left portionof the compartment 22 may be reserved for complete razor blades alsoheld in place by suitable nuts and studs.

The knife holder is shown in detail in Figs, 4

- to '7 inclusive. It consists of a main body I made of sheet metal. Itsrear narrow portion is bent upon itself for increasing its strength, theend being rounded and provided with a hole 29 for the screw 6. Theenlarged overhanging portion 36 is adapted to support the cutting blade23 and has a recess 3| for the cutting edge of the blade, the other edgebeing tapered as shown. The blade is guided in its place by a pin 32fitting into a corresponding hole in the blade. The end of the pin 32fits into a hole 33 in a clamping plate 34 shown separately in Fig. 7.It is shaped like the portion 36 of the holder and also has a recess 35for the cutting edge of the blade. The clamping plate is held againstthe portion 36 of the holder with the blade 23 between them by means ofclips 36 and 31 pivotally'supported at 38 and 39 respectively on theportion 30 of the holder. The clips have U-shaped cross-section so thatthey can frictionally engage the sides of the parts 30 and 34 as shownin Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The upper edge portion of the part 30 is bent overso as to hold the upper corner or edge of the blade 23.

A pelt or piece of fur 40 may be held in any convenient frame forslitting it by my device, holding the latter in a hand, but I prefer touse a special stretching frame with a guiding attachment for the box l.Such a frame is shown in Fig, 8 and consists of a base board 4|supporting a stationary bar 42 on posts 43. The upper side of the bar 42has a number of sharp pins 44 for holding the pelt 40. The latter isclamped against the bar 42 by a second or clamping bar 46 having holes41 for the pins 44 and hinged at 48 to the end of the stationary bar 42.The other end of the clamping bar 46 is tightly held against thestationary bar 42 by a hook 49 hinged at 50 to the post 43. The otherend of the pelt 40 is held by similar pins 44 on a supporting bar 52 andclamped by a bar 53 mounted on. a hinge 54 and held by a hook 55. Thesupporting bar 52 is mounted on posts 56 with tubular portions 51 at thelower ends sliding on rails or guiding bars 58 whose ends are attachedto the lower ends of the posts 43. Thumb screws 59 are provided forclamping the posts 56 to the rails 58 in any desired position forstretching the pelt 40. The second bar 52 with its posts 56 may be alsoattached directly to the base of the machine as .by screws or nails if awide latitude is desired as regards the width of the pelts mounted onthe bars.

For large production work several pieces of pelts may be placed one ontop of the other and slit simultaneously. It should be noted that thehair of the fur is not damaged by the knives, being readily deflected tothe side by the edge of the knife.

My device has an advantage in this respect over ordinary methods, sinceit is not possible to cut by hand several pelts at once without spoilingthe work on account of slippage between the pelts. A single pelt can beslit with my device by hand, holding the pelt against the edge of thetable.

More accurate and satisfactory results are obtained when using my devicein connection with the pelt supporting frames and, more particularly,with a guiding rail 66 for the box I as shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. Therail is pivotally supported at 6| on a post 62 having a foot 63 whichcan be moved along the bar 42. The post 62 has sides tapered at the sameangle at which the knives are supported on the box. It is placed withone of its sides against a supporting bar 64 mounted at the side of thebar 42 so as to place the rail 60 in a desired angular or perpendiculardirection. The bar 64 has a longitudinally extending slot 65 so that itactually consists of two bars separated by the slot 65. The post 63 hasT-shaped buttons 66, 66 and 66" slidably and frictionally sliding in theslot 65 so that the post 62 with the rail 60 can be placed in anyposition along the bar 64. The post 62 may be tightened or locked in itsposition by any suitable device such as a set screw, etc.

For supporting the box on the rail 60 it is provided with hooks 61,68'and 69 extending from the front door of the drawer 2. The hooks areused for suspending the box from the guiding rail 60 with the knivesextending downward. The hook 61 is used when the rail extends to theleft as shown in Fig. 8, hook 68 is used when the rail 66 is turned tothe right, and the middle hook 69 is used when the rail is placed atright angles to the supporting frame, the button 66" engaging the slot65, or when the knives are placed perpendicularly to the box, i. e., inposition I, Fig. 1. Only one hook 61 is shown in Fig. 8 for clearness.

The rail 60 is supported in a raised position by a spring 10, the springbeing sufiiciently strong also to support the weight of the box hangingon the rail by one of the hooks. For bringing the knives in contact withthe pelt, the front end of the rail 60 is depressed by hand, and the boxis then moved along the rail, the knives slitting the pelt into thecorresponding number of narrow strips. The strips are held together bymarginal portions of the pelt, these portions being slit afterwards whenthe strips are being matched and shifted for making a narrow and longpiece of fur of each pelt, i. e., for letting out or resetting.

- A modified device is shown in Fig. 11, the box I being provided with ahook or hooks Blsl'idably fitted on a rail 14 The" latter is'movablysupported at one end on a pin 15 on a post 16, the other end beingslidably supported on a rod 11 extending from a post". A spring 19.tends to keep the end of the rail raised as shown. The hook 61 has a lugthreaded for a long feed screw 8| operated by an electric or othersuitable motor 82 mounted on the end of the rail 14. The knives arebrought-against the pelt 40 by manually depressing a handle 83 onthe-end of the rail. The motor 82 is started at the same time, thecurrent being closed by contacts 84 operated by a spring 85 on the freeend of the rail. The rail can be also operated by a pedal 86 connectedto the rail by a rod or cord 81. The latter arrangement can be also usedfor moving the box I on the rail 14. The two posts 16 and I8 can begiven any desired angular position on the board 4|. Lugs or buttons 12,Fig. 11, are provided at the sides of the box I, limiting its approachto the frame bars 46 and '53.

It is understood that my fur slitting machine can be further modifiedwithout departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A fur slitting device comprising a base, means to support a piece offur on the base in a stretched position, a rail, means to support therail at an elevation above the fur at a small angle to the base, anelongated member, a hook at the upper side of the elongated memberhaving fiat sides at a sharp angle to the member, the hook slidablyengaging the rail so as to hold the elongated member in a fixed angularposition to the rail, and a plurality of knives mounted on the elongatedmember side by side in a parallel relation to each other and to therail, the knives being adapted to be moved on the rail and to cut thefur into a plurality of parallel narrow strips on a bias to the edge ofthe fur.

2. A fur slitting device comprising a base, means to support a piece offur on the base in a stretched position, a rail, means including a rearpost for supporting the rail on the base at an elevation above the fur,an elongated member slidably supported on the rail for movement in afixed angular relationship thereto, a plurality of knives spaced inparallel relation to each other and to the rail, the knives beingadapted to cut the fur into parallel strips when the elongated member ismoved on the rail, guiding bars on the base, and means to support thepost in a slidably adjustable position on the guiding bars in a fixedangular position.

3. A fur slitting device comprising a base, means to support a piece offur on the base in a stretched position, a rail, means including a rearpost for supporting the rail on the base at an elevation above the fur,an elongated member slidably supported on the rail for movement in afixed angular relationship thereto, a plurality of knives spaced inparallel relation to each other and to the rail, the knives beingadapted to cut the fur into parallel strips when the elongated member ismoved on the rail, guiding bars on the base, and means to support thepost in a slidably adjustable position on the guiding bars in one of thethree fixed angular positions.

4. A fur slitting device comprising a base, means to support a piece offur on the base in a stretched position, a rail, means including a rearpost for supporting the rail on the base at an elevation above the fur,an elongated member slidably supported on the rail for movement in afixed angularrelationship thereto, a plurality of knives spaced inparallel relation to each other andito the rail, the knives beingadapted to cut the fur into parallel strips when the elongated member ismoved on the rail, guiding bars on the base, the post having three sidesat an angle to each other, and projections on the sides slidablyengaging the guiding member for supporting the rail in one of threefixedangular positions.

5. A fur slitting device comprising a base, means to support a piece offur on the base in a stretched position,a rail, means to support therail at an elevation above the fur, an elongated member,; ahook at theupper side of the elongated member adapted to slidably engage the railand to hold the elongated member in a fixed angular position in relationto the rail, a plurality of sharp-pointed knives having straight narrowshanks, means to removably support the shanks on the elongated member ina spaced parallel relation to each other and in one of three fixedangular positions to the elongated member the main portion of the knivesbeing offset downward below the elongated member, the knives beingadapted to cut the fur into strips when the member is moved on the rail.

6. A knife blade holder for a. fur slitting device comprising a holdingmember made of sheet metal having a wide front portion, means to supporta cutting blade on the front portion, an elongated straight narrow rearportion ofiset in relation to the front portion, and means on the end ofthe rear portion for supporting the holder on the fur slitting device.

7. A fur slitting device comprising a base, a clamping bar on the basefor holding one side of a piece of fur, means to support the other edgeof the fur, a guiding rail, means to support the rail on the base at anelevation above the bar and at a small angle thereto, an elongatedmember slidably supported on the rail in a parallel relation to theclamping bar, and. a plurality of knives on the elongated membersupported in a parallel relation to the rail and adapted to slit the furinto strips when the elongated member is moved on the rail.

8. A fur slitting device comprising a base, a clamping bar on the basefor holding one side of a piece of fur, means to support the other edgeof the fur, a guiding rail, means to support the rail on the base at anelevation above the bar in one of three positions at different angles tothe bar, an elongated member, adjustable means to slidably support themember on the rail in a position parallel to the bar, and a plurality ofknives removably and adjustably supported on the member in a positionparallel to the clamping bar.

9. A fur slitting device comprising a base, a clamping bar on the basefor holding one side of a piece of fur, means to support the other edgeof the fur, a guiding rail, means to support the rail on the base at anelevation above the bar in one of three angular positions to theclamping bar including right and left positions at approximately 15 andone position at right angles, an

elongated member, adjustable means to slidably support the member on therail in a position parallel to the bar, and a plurality of knivesremovably and adjustably supported on the member in a position parallelto the clamping bar.

10. A fur slitting device comprising a base, a clamping bar on the basefor holding one side of a piece of fur, means to support the other edgeof the fur, a plate in front of the clamping bar, a plurality of sharppins on the plate positioned in two rows at small right and left anglesto the clamping bar and adapted to support the fur, a guiding rail,means to support the rail on the base at an elevation above the plateselectively in one of the two positions corresponding to one of the rowsof the pins, an elongated member slidably supported on the rail in aparallel relation to the base, and a plurality of knives on theelongated member parallel to each other and to the rail, adapted to cutthe fur into strips when the member is moved on the rail.

11. A fur slitting device comprising a base, a clamping bar on the basefor holding one side of a piece of fur, means to support the other edgeof the fur, a guiding rail, means to support the rail on the base at anelevation above the bar, a plurality of knives having straight shanks,pins extending from the ends of the shanks, the elongated member havinga row of holes for the pins, the knives being adapted to be rotated onthe pins for placing them in one of the three positions corresponding tothe three positions of the rail, and means to clamp the knives in one ofthe selected positions on the elongated member, the knives being adaptedto slit the fur into parallel strips when the elongated member is movedon the rail.

SAMUEL DEUTSCHER.

